Plastic-Blue

This is a hue I've been trying to replicate from a vinyl sign. It's a little darker for readability, but you have to consider how colors will age & fade with sun exposure. Better to have a color look good for five years than just really good for one.

Bismuth Vanadate Yellow

This hue is one of my favorites in oil painting... too bad it's $30 a tube. This is just what my eyes can reproduce on screen, but the pigment in real life is so rich. CMYK and RGB can't compete with the actual vibrance of crushed up pigment.

Futura Bold

So, everybody is using Futura these days, and previous days, and for a long time before that. There are some newer versions coming about, but people favor the face because of its timeless quality and geometric simplicity (it's been around since 1927).

Futura is great for titling—Bold, add some letter-spacing, and you're golden. Digging the fall colorways on the memo books.

Use Less White—& Then More

Okay, white makes for some 'clean' looking layouts, but if your design isn't spectacular, it starts to look like you didn't even consider color. Solution? Use this very light gray instead of white for a background. One of the best things about #F5F5F5 is that it plays well with white, and even better with larger solid fills of it.

Gradient & Solid

These two work well together. While I normally don't approve of gradients, this one is very flat and classy. #C4B99F stepped to #B1A68B goes very well on B/W layouts. Probably best used as a button or accent. #CCCC99 is a web safe color that would pair well with rich, gold tones. Keep it in mind for those retro designs.

Bree

Bree is one of those novel-looking fonts with some soft charm. What many people don't recognize is the beauty that went into crafting the uppercase letters (will follow up), which can bring the face MORE utilization. I always give the Bree caps a try when doing titling or headlines.

Tasman

I love the cuts in the s and n. Frankly, any typeface that bothers to design a headline version is good in my book.  Love the madness.

Scout

An excellent family for UI design. Ultra-tall lettering is always in style.